He growled. “No, you idiot. She never said a word. I found out when you came around waving that thing in my face.” He pointed at the bracelet. “That’s when I knew she’d seen me. It’s your fault she’s dead.”
I felt suddenly sick to my stomach. Rather than go to the cops, I’d tried to solve things myself, and it had gotten Andrea killed. I shook my head. I couldn’t think that way. “No, it isn’t, Kyle. The only fault here is yours. I’m guessing that was what the argument was about. You had to kill her so she couldn’t tell anyone what she’d seen. What I don’t quite understand is why you tried to kill Andrea in the first place.”
“Don’t you, Miss Know-It-All?” Kyle snarled. In his hand was a wicked-looking knife. It looked just like the one I found in Natasha’s back. I froze, suddenly realizing just how alone we were. “Andrea was in my way. She threatened to tell Natasha the truth.”
“That, uh, you were using her for her money?” I ventured.
“Whatever. Like she wasn’t using me.” He moved closer, the light glinting of the sharp edge of his blade. “I needed her. Natasha. She was going to get me out of this hellhole.”
“I get it. I do. But murder? Seems extreme.”
“I couldn’t risk it. I needed Natasha. And her money. And then the stupid woman has to go and get herself killed.” His face twisted until it was an ugly parody of itself.
Keep him talking. Keep him talking. Somebody has to come by at some point.
“But why did you push me down the stairs? It was you, wasn’t it?”
He twirled the knife in his hand, the blade flashing hypnotically. “You were getting a little too close. I thought you might know what the bracelet meant. I couldn’t risk you finding out the truth. How could I know you were so slow?”
Ouch. That hurt.
“What can I say? I’m new at this,” I said, trying to act nonchalant. “But the snake? Why a king snake?”
He growled. “Idiot sold it to me said it was a coral. Just goes to show you gotta do things yourself. Can’t trust anybody. And I definitely can’t trust you and your big mouth.” He advanced on me, that sharp knife pointed at me like it, and he, meant business.
“Um, Kyle, think about this...”
“I am thinking about it and if you’re gone, no one will figure it out.”
“What?” I laughed weakly. “You think I’m the only one who figured it out?”
“Yes, Miss Nosey, I do.”
“Detective Costa—”
“Is an idiot,” he snapped. “Couldn’t find his backside with both hands.”
Well, I wouldn’t have gone that far. Even if I was still irked at him for considering me a suspect.
Kyle lunged at me, and I stepped backward, tripping over a loose bit of debris. I toppled to the sand, scrabbling to get away, to find a weapon. Anything to fend him off. My hand closed around something solid. As Kyle lunged again, I whipped up the kayak paddle and bashed him in the head just as a horde of policemen burst from the bushes, shouting to freeze in the name of the law.
Kyle toppled to the ground, unconscious. I dropped the paddle and held up my hands. Detective Costa loomed over me, glaring.
Chapter 21
Farewell to Fairwinds
IT WAS THE LAST DAY of the conference, and Lucas had taken Cheryl, Maggie, Lu, and me out for drinks at the Flying Fish. Cheryl had invited Max, but he had to catch an early plane to Boston. Cheryl was looking a little down, so I made a mental note to cheer her up later.
We all gathered around one of the Flying Fish’s long tables with humongous wine glasses filled to the brim. There was both a feeling of excitement and sadness. Excitement that the murder was solved and sadness that tomorrow we’d be going our separate ways.
“To Viola,” Lucas said, lifting his glass. The look he gave me was rife with meaning.
“Viola!” the others chimed in.
“All right, girl, spill,” Maggie demanded. “When did you know it was Natasha’s boy toy?”
“When Cheryl told me that Kyle was Andrea’s boyfriend. I mean, it made sense, him killing her. Get her out of the way and all. But not him killing Natasha. Unless it was an accident. Then I recalled once seeing Andrea in the lobby. I thought at first it was Natasha, they’re so similar, at least from behind. I realized that if I could mistake them, the killer might have, too, especially in the dark. And if that were the case, it explained both murders.”
“Smart thinking,” Lucas said approvingly.
“I still think you’re an idiot,” Cheryl snapped. “You could have been killed!”
“But I wasn’t,” I said reassuringly. “I knew I could count on you to call Detective Costa. Unfortunately he ran a bit later than I’d hoped,” I said wryly, “but it all worked out in the end.”
“Let me get this straight,” Lu said. “Kyle wanted to kill Andrea because she was planning to tell Natasha that Kyle was only into the relationship for the money?”
“Exactly,” I said. “He was stupid enough to believe Natasha planned on taking him with her when she left Florida.”
“As if that would happen,” Cheryl said. “Natasha would have ditched him the minute the conference was over.”
“You and I know that,” I agreed, “but Kyle didn’t know her like we did. Of course, once he accidentally killed Natasha, he had to kill Andrea,” I said.
“Because she witnessed it, of course,” Lucas surmised.
I nodded. “And if her fate wasn’t sealed before, it was then. When he saw the bracelet, he decided Andrea had to die. He couldn’t risk her telling anyone what she’d seen.”
“That’s just nuts,” Maggie snapped. “What is the world coming to?”
“What about the plagiarized book?” Lucas asked. “The one Natasha was trying to pass off as her own.”
That involved another round of explanation. “The publishing company has now seen proof that Piper is the author. Greta
